What’s it like: Arabic restaurants are one-too-many in the UAE, which is why dining at Al Nafoorah was a real treat as it offers much more than just tasty food in a fine-dining setting. Their newly opened rustic-style marquee on the terrace, which is magically lit with Arabic lanterns transports you back to a time in ancient Arabia.

Our meal began, as most Arabic meals do, with a hot mezze plate of cheese spring rolls, spinach fatayer, sambusek and kibbe, and cold mezze including moutabal, fattoush – my dining partner and I both felt that the fattoush had the best salad dressing we had ever tasted – and hummous. While we filled up on freshly baked Arabic bread, we decided we’d choose seafood for main course, as it seemed apt for the summer. My partner chose the Sherry fillet with couscous and chilli sauce – the fish was presented with a layer of salsa on top and was juicy and moist, and the couscous had soaked up the juices from the fish and sauce, proving to be a great side to the fish. I chose the garlic and lemon juice grilled prawns which was, for a change, a good portion for one – just four pieces – and were sweet and tender. For dessert, we had a platter of fresh fruits, and fresh cream with honey and pistachio, a dessert served with a flourish, which provided the perfectly light ending to a summer supper.

If you want to go: Around Dhs600 for two; without drinks. Call 04-3198088. – Nicola Monteath

Best for: A light, fresh Arabian meal